The NIH and Academic Community in this country recognize the seriousness of the lack of MD's remaining in academic medicine in general and having careers in clinical investigation in particular. This cardiovascular research training program is designed to address this critical problem and produce research scientists and clinician/scientists prepared to meet current and future challenges in the arena of cardiovascular function and disease. As the title of the program indicates, one unique aspect of this program is an integrative approach beginning with genomics, proteomics, molecular biology, and cellular and molecular signaling - integrated with whole animal physiology, with emphasis on genetically engineered animals. The integrative approach not only involves the scientific disciplines of the faculty of this training program, but also provides the direction for training as well. For example, we will expose graduate students and postdoctoral fellows with a primary interest in cellular/molecular mechanisms to physiology, so that they understand the target for research is ultimately cardiovascular disease such as heart failure and myocardial ischemia. Conversely, an important component of the postdoctoral program is to include M.D. and M.D./Ph.D. students who have finished, or are in the midst of their clinical training with plans for a clinical cardiology fellowship, and expose them to an in-depth two to three year training program in molecular/cellular biology. The goal of this part of the program is to train academic, clinician/scientists cardiologists to remain in the University setting to conduct full time, clinical care, research and teaching To these ends, we have a group of well funded mentors, with additional training faculty from the New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) and New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), who will work together to make this program successful. This program has relevance to Public Health at several levels. First of all, it must be appreciated that cardiovascular disease is a major health problem, as it is the major cause of disability and death in the U.S. To gain knowledge regarding the pathogenesis of these diseases and their therapy it will be necessary to have research scientists trained in cardiovascular research for the 21^' century. This training program will help provide the next generation of trained cardiovascular scientists and clinician scientists.